Typically when my climbing buddies and I get together we could easily and lovingly be described as “climbing geezers”. The whole group of us is well over 200 years of collective climbing experience. However, recently when I saw Trusty Rusty’s thread on aging gracefully (even though he said 50+…”faux geezers” …we are all 60+..real geezers). I thought perhaps a kinder, gentler characterization would be “Gracefully Aging Climbers” or GAC for short. So regardless of GACs or Geezers a subset of us were able to recently have a J-Tree rendezvous.
This subset included John C., a soon-to-retire Cambridge Don; Mike J (Ferretlegger on ST), Phillip F (Guck on ST), Laurie S. and myself. Sadly missing on this trip was Ingrid and Art. The first four, John, Mike, Laurie and Phillipe started climbing together in the late 60s and early 70s at UC Santa Barbara. I’m a come lately, having started on the East Coast, took a long hiatus and returned to climbing about 15 years ago. Amongst us that did this trip we represent somewhere over 180 years of climbing. Some are still doing walls, some like me, check out the approach, the number of pitches, the descent and then make my decision!
Since it’s just the beginning of climbing season we took it easy and stayed at a motel. We sorta ease into ground sleeping by starting off at motels, progressing to increasingly harder mattresses and sketchy lodging until sleeping on the ground is a God-send. Actually product plug here…ever since buying a NeoAir XTherm I have found sleeping on the ground about as close to a comfortable bed mattress as you can get. It is pricey, but worth it, and I usually buy all my expensive gear up in Montana because of no sales tax. If you check it out in the store it sounds horribly crinkly, like a potato chip bag, but when inflated and laying down on it, it doesn’t have that annoying crinkle sound. Just an FYI.
As far as the climbing went we hit the following areas: Hemingway, PlayHouse Rock, Intersection, Trash Can and Hall of Horrors. Weather was beautiful, moderate temps, and off and on brisk winds. I lived up to the “duh geezer” moniker when I lost a whole day of climbing pictures because I had my SLR setting so f’ed up it over exposed. Photo Shop couldn’t ever do a decent recover. I’m always reluctant to take that camera out for fear “I might break it”…so this time I said screw that; hanked on the telephoto and shot away, only to end up with faded pictures that look like something from the 60s. Oh well. Amongst us we caught a few.
Next installment: Zion Rendezvous
Over 180 years of collective climbing powering down Mexican and Margaritas.

Mike, Laurie, Phillipe, John and Susan

Credit: SCseagoat

John C on Playhouse Rock

John C.

Credit: SCseagoat

Mike taking a breather after a challenging lead

Mike Jefferson (Ferretlegger) taking a break after a tough lead.

Credit: SCseagoat

Phillipe's turn to take a breather

Phillipe F. taking a break after a beautiful climb on PlayHouse Rock

Credit: SCseagoat

Susan headed up...easy climb, shitty descent

Credit: SCseagoat

Susan trying to squeeze into a crack...it's too thin, or Susan's too wide!

Credit: SCseagoat

Laurie topping out

Credit: SCseagoat

Laurie so proud of her sun hat, a wonderful deal at Nomads, turns out it was a toddler size...but fit her!

Laurie topping out

Credit: SCseagoat

Mike contemplating being a belay slave

Credit: SCseagoat

Down climbing was harder than the route we just did

Credit: SCseagoat

Laurie thinking we've done the worst of the downclimb, we still had a chimney to go through.

Credit: SCseagoat

Mike high stepping a lead on Jessica's Crack

Credit: SCseagoat

Mike leading Jessica's Crack with Phillipe belaying and Laurie supervising

Credit: SCseagoat

Arrch, one of my overexposed failed pics....which is very sad as Phillipe was doing an awesome handstack on this move.

Credit: SCseagoat

End of another day for the GACs

Gracefully Aging Climbers

Credit: SCseagoat

And a trip down memory lane for me, stopped by Trash Can Rock and took this picture nearly 3 years to the day after finishing chemo.
After

Sounds like a great time.
I'm reading this in a cheap motel in Yucca Valley. Lucke and I had really fun day out there today. He is camping out at Black Rock with the AAC folks.
Tomorrow I think we are planting trees for the NPS.

Just read this yet again.
A wonderful presentation of what was obviously a great trip.
Philippe was my very first real climbing partner, at UCSB. We climbed
at Gibraltar Rock, Tahquitz and Yosemite.
Somehow I missed out on knowing Mike, John and Laurie, as best I can
remember.
I haven't actually seen Philippe in 40 years now, but came THIS CLOSE
at the Facelift last year. I stopped in at the Auditoreum on the one night that Philippe had stayed behind at Yellow Pines.
Sniff!